Push-on type handle



D. G. KIMBALL 2,172,977

PUSH-ON TYPE HANDLE Sept. 12, 1939.

Filed Oct. 12', 1957 Irfiventor": Donald G. Kimball b W 6 His Attorney.

Patented Sept. 12, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE PUSH-ON TYPE HANDLEDonald G. Kimball, Stratford, Com, assignor to General Electi-ic-()ompany, a corporation of New York Application October 12, 1937, SerialNo. 168,620

1 Claim. ((1287-53) cally, which may be assembled quickly and'easilyupon a shaft without the use of tools, and which is held rigidly-mountedthereon without wobble 'or lateral side play.

Referring tothe drawing, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a plurality ofhandles mounted upon a piece of electrical apparatus; Fig. 2 is a viewincross-section through the handle; Fig. 3 is an end view of theinteriorof the handle, and Fig. 4 is an exploded view of the shaft and latchinmeans.

The handle It represents a suitable manipulat- .ing or control elementfor an instrument shaft and may be formed of molded composition. Thehandle takes the form of a hollow shell and has side walls Ill and illwhich are flared outwardly at the center to provide for a web l which isplaced centrally between thewalls and is adapted to mount the handleupon a shaft and at the same time insure a rigid. and sturdyconstruction. In the construction shown by Fig. 1 the handle is ofgenerally oblong shape and is provided with decorative flutings ll uponthe outside wall surfaces and a metallic insert I2 upon the outer endsurface which gives the handle a pleasing appearance. The handle ismounted upon a heater, l3 which is illustrated merely as an' example ofthe type of apparatus to which the handle may be connected. Thedecorative metallic insert I2 is formed with extending ends I which areinserted through openings Hi formed in the handle [0 and then bentoverthe shoul-.

ders l5 which are formed on the inner surface -of the handle. By thisconstruction the insert is held in position. It will be apparent thatthe insert may be omitted, if desired, and the handle formed entirely ofcomposition material;

The heater or instrument l3 isprovided with a control shaft l6 which isof non-circular crosssection and which is adaptedto be inserted into acorresponding non-circular opening I! formed in the central web portionIll of the handle. By making the shaft and opening non-circular apositely disposed bowed portions 2| close mating fit is obtained betweenthe shaft and the handle, and accurate rotation of the shaft is insuredupon rotation of the handle. Latching means for holding the shaft in theopening is provided in the form of a spring I! mounted upon the handleoverlying the recess H. .The

spring is of substantially hairpin form and comprises a looped portion20 together with opwhich are adapted to straddle the shaft and-be seatedin recesses or grooves 22 formed upon opposite sides .of the shaft. Ascrew 23'passes through the loop and is threaded into a hole in anextension I8 depending from the web W. The screw is located immediatelyadjacent the opening l1 and hence secures the spring to the web in aposition overlying the opening l1. The distance between the bowedportions 2| is made smaller than the diameter of the shaft I6 so that asthe shaft is pushed into the opening, it will spring 20 the bowedportions apart as they straddle the shaft. When the shaft is fullyseated in the opening-the bowed portions will snap back into normalposition in the recesses 22.

In order to prevent the bowed portions of the spring from springing toofar apart as the shaft is inserted between them, the tang ends 24 of thespring are bent over at 25 and inserted into a recess 26 formed in theweb Ill. The recessis formed with vertical sides 21 which engage thespring tangs and prevent them from springing apart and, in addition, isformed 'with a .slot

'28'which receives the ends of the tangs. The

ends of the tangs grip the slot 28 under spring of the recess when thehandle is pulled off. The loop and tang ends of the spring are fastenedto the web at points closely adjacent the shaft by means of the recess26 and screw 23, so that repeated insertion and retraction of the shaftin 40 the opening will not dislodge the spring. The recess 26 confinesthe tang ends ofthe spring and maintains the bowed portions 2| inposition slightly covering the opening ll where they may be sprung apartupon insertion of the shaft is.

The handle is readily mounted upon and removed from a shaft and thespring latching means is effective to hold the handle securely upon theshaft and at the same time permit its quick removal. The latchingstructure is located within the interior of the handle and is completelyhidden from view making possible a handle having a pleasing exteriordesign of decorative value. The handle may be assembled upon the shaftby a simple movement of the hand without handle under normal conditionsof use, means attaching the bowed end of said spring to said handle,said handle being provided with a second recess, the tang ends of saidbowed spring being bent over within said second-mentioned recess andi'rictionally engaging the walls of the same to prevent lateraldisplacement of said spring and to prevent separation of the bowedportions of said Spring.

DONALD G. KIMIBALL.

